Hell And High Water 25

The last section of Hell And High Water. Hope you enjoy.

Nico woke Percy early the next morning so the two could actually pack for their trip to Camp Half Blood, since Percy didn't want to the day before. But, to be fair, Nico didn't want to that morning. Actually, the son of Hades still wasn't too stoked about going but, as of the previous day, he felt he kind of had to.
Percy wasn't too excited, either but that was because he didn't want to get up when Nico roused him. He actually even pulled the younger back onto the bed and wrapped his arms around the son of Hades, cuddling the younger like a giant teddy bear.
Nico gave a sigh. "Percy we-"
"Shhhhh," The older interrupted. "I'm sleeping."
Nico looked behind him and saw a slight smile on Percys barely awake face. He smiled back, finding himself unable to try and make Percy get up, before snuggling into the older demigod to be held until the son Poseidon decided to get out of bed.
It wasn't much time, though, before Hazel stomped into the room, yelling at her half-brother and pretty much making Percys decision for him.
"Nico," she crossed her arms "what the heck are you doing? The two of you should be packed already. Get up!"
Percy rolled onto his back, unfurling the younger from his arms, and clamped his hands over his ears. Nico was left chuckling at the son of Poseidons reaction to Hazels yelling but she scoffed and shook her haed. Nico looked at her with a light smile and the daughter of Hades left the room with a growl and Nico tried once again to get Percy up and ready, this time with success.
The two teens started, right away and with a little difficulty, packing their things to leave, although Nico still wasn't really sure if he should bail out on Hazel. He wanted to go with Percy, to be sure the elder got to Camp okay, but he wanted to stay behind with his half-sister, too.
Nico tossed one of Percys shirts to him but didn't go back to packing his own things. Instead, he spoke to the elder demigod.
"Percy, I don't know about this..."
Percy threw the shirt onto the floor and turned to the younger. The look on his face was one Nico had never seen before, well at least never on the son of Poseidons face. It was such an angry look that Nico even felt a little afraid. He actually found himself glancing around the room to make sure there weren't any bottles or glasses of water that Percy could have manipulated at will.
"What are you talking about?" The elder spat, bringing Nicos attention back to him.
The son of Hades looked back at the elder and sighed. "Percy, Hazel-"
Percys growl cut Nicos words short. "What about me, Nico? Do I not matter? Does the fact that I want you to go with me not matter to you?"
The younger shook his head and took a few steps closer to the son of Poseidon. "Percy," he spoke softly but with force, "don't go there. What matters to me is your safety, as well as my sisters. Knowing you're going back to Camp Half Blood is reassuring and I know you'll be safe once you're there. But on this side, things will get much more serious. Hazel and Frank are goin' after Typhon and the Manticore. They will be risking their lives day in and day out and I can't handle not knowing whats going on with her every minute of every day. The only way I'll know that is if I stay with them." He tried to toss a small smile out at the end but he failed when he looked at the son of Poseidons face.
Percy threw one of Nicos pairs of boxers at the younger and ran into the other side of the suite where Hazel and Frank were talking quietly, planning on how to get Leo back. They both stopped when they saw the son of Poseidon and looked up at him.
"Nicos talking about staying."
The daughter of Hades opened her eyes wide and shifted her gaze to her half-brother, who had come into the room just seconds behind Percy. He looked pretty angry about Percy being a taddle tale but Hazel was happy the son of Poseidon told her what was going on.
She smiled at her half-brother and approached him slowly, fixing the wrinkles in his shirt. "Nico, Nico, Nico. I know exactly why you don't want to leave and you need to let it go. I'm not a porcelain doll, okay? I won't break if I'm dropped. Franks here, he'll protect me."
Nico shook his head at her. "That's not fair to me, Hazel!"
"Life's not fair, Nico." She spoke flatly.
The son of Hades was prepared to get into a heated argument with his half-sister but it stopped before it even started when Hazel's phone rang. She held a hand up to silence his very first word and answered the call, keeping the phone off of speaker.
"Hello." There was no questioning the anger and tension in Hazel's tone.
'Miss Hazel Lavesque.' It was Typhon. And he was smiling. 'How are you?'
Hazel cleared her throat. "What do you want?"
'My oh my. You people really don't like small talk.'
Hazel remained silent.
Typhon sighed. 'Fine. Then let me do the talking.' He sniffled a bit. 'Everyone here knows your brother plans on ditching out. I don't like that idea. So, I am going to make sure he doesn't.'
Hazel gritted her teeth, not liking how the morning was going so far between Percy, Nico, and now Typhon. "How?"
'Oh, sweetie,' Typhon teased 'that's the easy part. I've known where you were staying for a while now and I am here, waiting to escort you, Frank, Nico, and Percy from your hotel.' There was a smile clearly on Typhons face. Hazel could practically hear it.
The daughter of Hades pulled the phone away from her ear for a moment and took a deep breath before bringing the speaker back to her mouth. "And where will you be escorting us?"
The other three demigods perked up hearing Hazel say 'escorting'.
Typhon chuckled in Hazel's ear. 'To Leo, of course.'
The daughter of Hades clenched her fist. "Why would you take us to Leo?"
He chucked again, or rather just kept the last one going. 'To make sure all four of you actually make it, since that apparently wasn't obvious.'
Hazel tensed and started panicking just a slight bit when she heard that. She never thought the men would make sure all four demigods came to get Leo back but she knew she couldn't let anything of the sort happen. She needed to get Nico and Percy away from all this any way she could before it was too late. And, if that meant coming up with a lie, which was against her better judgment, then so be it.
"Well, two of us are already gone."
Typhon gasped at that and it almost sounded real. 'Is that so?'
Hazel grabbed a notepad and wrote *get your stuff and get out now use basement door Typhon is here* before tossing it to her half-brother. "It is. They left sometime last night."
Nico read the note and pulled Percy behind him in a frenzy so the two could finish packing as quickly as possible, no longer caring whose clothes were whose or that he didn't want to leave his half-sister. Nico checked everything to make sure nothing was left behind before grabbing his car keys and heading back over to Hazel, who was still talking to Typhon.
"When I got up this morning."
A few more seconds passed before Hazel hung up her phone and looked to her half-brother. "You gotta go!"
Nico shook his head. "This isn't what I wanted."
Hazel nodded and took Nicos car keys to exchange them for her own. "I know, but it's what needs to happen."
Nico wrapped her quickly in his arms and held her tight in his grasp, not wanting to let go. It took her a second but she returned his embrace lovingly. Nico was close to tears at the thought of leaving his only real family in some hotel with two crazy murderers after her and he gripped his half-sister tighter. But he had to let her go. He had to leave...
Nico forced himself to pull away from his half-sister and turned to Frank.
"Keep her safe or I swear I'll find you and kill you."
Frank nodded, not doubting the son of Hades was capable of following through with his threat. "I will."
Nico turned back to Hazel and took her hands. "Please keep me updated."
She nodded and kissed his cheek gently. "Go."
Nico gave a nod before looking deeply into her eyes and turning away. He let Hazel's hands slip from his own and grabbed onto Percys before heading down the flight upon flight of stairs they would need to conquer in order to reach the basement.
And that's where the real problems began.
Nico grasped the handle of the basement door tightly before cursing fiercely.
"What?"
"It's locked." He spat.
Percy groaned lightly. He had been trying to stay as calm as possible through all this but, at that point, calm was the last thing on his mind. He couldn't help but think that something as simple as a locked door could potentially lead them to be standing at Deaths door, and that was not where they wanted to be.
Nico pushed Percy gently away from the exit and dug something out of his bag.
"What's that?"
Nico flipped the device in his hand a few times before pressing a button on the side and seeing small red numbers appear. "A prototype nano-bomb. It was made for the military but never labeled as safe, since the blast range was wider than anticipated."
Percy stared at the small bomb in awe. "Where'd you get it?"
Nico stuck the device to the door and pulled Percy as far as he could away from it, even going as far as standing on the other side of a wall, before the 'nano-bomb' gave a small bang and pieces of metal flew from the door. One even embedded itself into the wall, going all the way through it, only a few inches from Nicos head and he tensed and slid away from it in shock. He waited for the sound of falling rubble to cease before pulling Percy to his feet and to the, now, largely open exit.
"It was the last thing Charon gave me before he died." Nico said, finally answeing Percys question. "He told me to put it to good use. I just hope he'd be happy with what I did with it."
Percy gave the younger a light smile and a small nod, hearing him talk about his friend, and Nico gripped the elders hand tightly to pull him further into the basement. The door, which was completely gone, was replaced by a small cloud of smoke, filling the space under the 'exit' sign, that they struggled to see through. The two teens had to step over the rubble to get out, but the mess was the least of their concern. Hotel workers had found their way into the basement and there were yells and hollers about the mess then someone cursed loudly and shouted about the door. Or, lack thereof, rather.
The son of Hades dragged the elder up the basement steps, into the parking lot, and to Hazels car before pushing Percy into the passanger seat and starting the engine from the other. Percy looked in the rear view mirror and saw something he would have preferred not to: three people climbing onto motorcycles, all with large guns in their grasp.
"Um, Nico?" Percy said nervously.
"What?" The younger had just finished turning the key in the ignition.
"We have company."
The son of Hades looked behind him and saw the three, now moving and quite close to the car. "S**t. Can't I ever get a break?! Damn it all to Tartarus!!" He turned to the elder demigod and looked him in the eyes, speaking with a harsh tone. "You remember when I taught you how to use a gun?"
Percy went wide eyed, being able to imagine where Nico was going with that and not liking the idea, but nodded anyway.
"Well that's gonna come in handy." He flopped a large pistol into Percys lap. "Forget everything I told you in the firing range about aiming and just shoot those b******s. Va bene?"
Percy nodded and Nico quickly put the car in gear and tore out of the parking lot, followed by the motorcycles and their riders. Percy bounced around the passanger seat as he rolled the window down and stuck his torso out of it, like they do in the movies. He tried to aim and make sure he would be able to hit the 'target' but the car and the motorcycles were bouncing around way too much as they sped down the San Francisco street. He couldn't steady his arm or judge the distance and each second that passed made it harder to do either of those two things. And when you top it off with the distraction of someone yelling at you, it's even worse.
"Percy! Stop f****n' around and just shoot! Don't worry about aiming, just shoot!"
Hearing that wasn't the easiest thing, but it put Percy in a whole new state of mind. He slipped into his demigod mode of thinking and started squeezing the trigger as many times as he could, just hoping to hit something. He didn't care if it was a person, a bike, a tire, whatever. As long as he hit something. The more damage he did to the people behind them the better, but doing damage wasn't his sole concern anymore. Instead, it was just causing enough of a ruckus to get the riders away from the car.
The first couple of shots Percy fired missed anything but the next few found a true target. One hit a tire, flipping a bike over and sending it's rider flying. Another hit a man's arm, causing him to drop his gun and lose control of his bike. The third hit a man in the chest and it became very apparent he wasn't wearing a vest when his bike tipped and he fell from it, rolling down the street in a bloody mess. Nico looked in the mirror as he shifted gears and noticed that Percy had taken out three of their persuers, but there were still two left. One held an AK-47 and was attempting to spray shots at the car and the other, a woman, had some sort of grenade launcher type deal that did not look freindly.
"Percy," Nico said flatly as he shifted yet again. "I need you to do something you're really gonna hate."
"What?" The son of Poseidons words were laced with worry; he wasn't sure what he would like less than shooting a bunch of people on motorcycles in the middle of the street.
"In the backseat," Nico said quickly but clearly, "there's a sniper. Climb behind and grab it."
Percy swallowed hard but nodded and climbed into the backseat before taking the sniper rifle in his hands. "Got it."
Nico looked in the rear view mirror again. "Okay. Through the window, aim it at the one with grenade gun."
"With the what?" Percy queried, frightened.
"The grenade launcher, Percy! It's the woman! Aim it at the woman! Specifically her gun!"
Percy nodded as beads of sweat started to accumulate on his brow and his mouth dried like the Sahara Desert. He positioned the rifle on his sholder the way he thought he should and asked Nico to steady the car. The son of Hades tried to keep the steering wheel as even as possible but that wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do when you're being chased down by people with guns while trying to avoid hitting other cars on the road, all at once.
The man with the Ak-47 fired a few rounds that littered the back end of Hazel's car in bullet holes and made Percy jump, but he got back into position as quickly as possible. He tried his hardest to ignore the gun shots and just do what needed to be done but getting shot at was nerve racking. And it got worse for him when the woman readied her gun to use it.
"Oh, gods, Nico she's gonna shoot us!"
"Oh, f**k no!" Nico shouted, looking into the rear view. "Percy, aim at the mouth of her gun!"
"What!?" Percy turned a little to look at Nico, a shocked and tense expression on his face. "How?!"
"Very carefully!" The younger shouted as he tried to miss a pot hole.
"S**t." Percy cursed under his breath and tried to aim down the barrel of the woman's large grenade launcher. But it wasn't the easiest thing to do. People say staring down the barrel of a gun that's pointed at you is the scariest thing in the world. Well, Percy figured, they had never tried to aim and shoot down the barrel of the gun pointed at them before. He was in a heavy panic and it got much much worse when the woman shot a grenade out of the end of her barrel. The son of Poseidon froze and then flinched when the grenade landed on the bed of the truck next to them. Nico swerved away from the pick up with heavy curses just seconds before the grenade exploded and sent the truck, along with the car right next to it, up in flames.
Once the son of Hades got himself pulled back together and steadied the car on the road again, he told Percy to shoot.
"Just shoot the damn gun, Percy!"
The elder demigod forced his shaking hands to steady and he aimed the sniper one more time. He prayed to Poseidon as he did, asking for a steadied hand and a good shot. The son of the sea god could feel his heart pounding in his chest so loudly that everything else faded into background noise: the screeching of tires and the younger demigods yelling could no longer be heard because of it. But, much to his surprise, his heartbeat had suddenly steadied. Within a fraction of a second, Percy felt as though the entire world had stopped moving and it was just him and the woman's gun. He rested the sniper on the head rest of the back seat and steadied it, pointing the barrel in the direction of the woman with the grenade launcher. He aimed right down the large barrel of the frightening gun, flicked the bolt of his own gun up, back, then forward, and squeezed the trigger with little hesitation. The seconds before the bullet hit it's target seemed to go by so slow that Percy felt he had missed. But he couldn't have been more wrong. Once time seemed to flow properly again, an explosion emanated from the woman's bike and sprawled over the other man's bike and at least a hundred foot radius with her at its center.
Nico looked in his rear view mirror and whooped and hollered at the sight. He started congratulating Percy for a good shot and he slammed his foot into the floor, speeding away from the explosion.
After a few minutes, Percy finally calmed enough, and Nico slowed his driving enough, to climb back into the passanger seat and speak to the younger.
"Hazel's gonna be mad" Percy said calmly.
Nico squinted his eyes as he drove carefully, sure to follow each and every traffic law now that they were a good enough distance from the hotel. "Why?"
Percy chuckled a bit. "There's a hole in her back window."
Nico chuckled, too, and the two kept on their way back to Camp Half Blood.

Hazel had much more pressing matters to worry about than a hole in her car window, though. Typhon and the Manticore were in the hotel suite, looking through Nico and Percys side of it. They opened every drawer in the dressers and night stands, looking for anything the two boys might have left behind, and made sure to leave no space unchecked. And they asked question on top of question about the two now missing teens.
"So," Typhon said as he paced Nico and Percys side of the suite. "They left in the night?"
Hazel nodded, preferring not to speak.
"They never told you where they were going?" The Manticore questioned as he closed a closet door after searching behind it.
The daughter of Hades shook her head and lied through her teeth. "They never even told me they were leaving."
Both men hummed and paced a little more, looking at the empty room around them.
"We should check the cameras," Manti whispered to his partner, who nodded in agreement, clearly liking the idea.
To her right, Hazel could see her boyfriend physically tense. But she was as calm as could be; the daughter of Hades was smart, and she herself knew it. Before the three had left for the meeting with Typhon and Manti where Leo was taken, she checked out everything about the hotel. The path she knew the two demigod boys would take to the basement was totally void of cameras, and she was sure of it. The way they would go to get to the parking lot wasn't under watch, either. The parking lot itself had a camera pointed at it but she had parked her car out of its line of sight, and that was part of the reason she gave Nico her keys. The other part being that not many people know her car. But, judging by the commotion she heard not long after the two left, it hadn't actually helped. She was just thankful that by the time Typhon and Manti looked out the window, it looked like a serious car crash instead of the explosion she was sure it was.
The Manticores voice pulled the daughter of Hades from her thoughts. "Do you have any way to get a hold of them? 'Cause we would like to have a chat with Hades."
Hazel had a thought right then: *That could be arranged. And with the real Hades* but she didn't say anything out loud. Nothing except "He drowned his phone in the toilet a few days ago."
Manti nodded and seemed to try to think if that actually made sense but Typhon wasn't quite satisfied with Hazel's answer. "What about the other kid? Percy, right? Doesn't he have a phone?"
Hazel tensed this time. She had already come up with so many lies that another just wouldn't form in her mind; it was already too much of tangled web. She shifted her eyes nervously to her boyfriend and he was the one who pulled a lie out of his hat.
"He had one that no one knew about but Hades found it." Frank gave a chuckle. "It was quite the spectacle when he found Hades lighting up with a .9."
Hazel laughed lightly, too, now being able to relax a little, and they even got light chuckles from Typhon and Manti. But then the conversation deepened, and they had Frank to thank for that.
"So, why exactly are you here?"
"Fantastic question, Frank." Typhon said as he toyed with the alarm clock next to one of the beds. "Originally, we were here to take you to Leo. But, since not all of you are here, that's not gonna happen."
Both Hazel and Frank froze. "What?"
Typhon left the clock alone and stood from the bed. "Believe it or not, we like honesty. And we like being honest. So, you can bet that when we said we were here to take all four of you to Leo, we meant it. So, we're gonna say goodbye and we'll be back tomorrow to see if your brother and Percy have come back. If not, we'll decide what to do with you then."
"What?!" Hazel spat. "Are you serious?"
Typhon nodded. "Absolutely. Now, the two of us are leaving to find out how many of our boys got caught up in that accident outside your window."
Typhon looked at a few more things in Nico and Percys side of the suite before heading to the door. "We'll be back tomorrow morning but, if they come back before then, feel free to give us a call."
Manti was out of the door first and Typhon followed behind him backwards. "See ya tomorrow, kiddies."
As soon as the two men closed the door, Hazel let a slip of angry curses leave her lips.
"We need to tell Nico" Frank said flatly.
Hazel agreed, but told her boyfriend that had to wait. "We'll get a hold of him tomorrow, before Typhon and Manti come back. By that time, Nico and Percy should be in a hotel or something and nowhere near here."

A whole day passed and Nico had been driving non-stop the entire time. He finally did stop for the night but he really didn't want to; he wanted to drive all the way through until they got back to Camp Half Blood. But that was a whole two days trip, without any resting at all, and the son of Hades could not drive for that long. Not to mention Percy attempted to threaten him into stopping and it was just too cute to refuse, even if Nico didn't want to admit it.
Once night finally fell, the two demigods found a small hotel to stay at and vowed to be up at sunrise and back at Camp Half Blood before dark the following night. Nico came up with a few ideas for the trip and he was feeling pretty good so he felt a nights rest would be good for them both.
But, halfway through the night, Nico grew very restless; he was tired, but he couldn't sleep. His mind kept going back to his half-sister and wondering how she was and what she and Frank might have been doing. He sighed, angry at himself for trashing his phone and mad at Hazel for making him go without her.
Nico climbed out of bed and covered Percy tightly before slipping a shirt on and heading to the bathroom. He closed the door tightly behind himself and flicked the lock, just in case Percy was to wake and come looking for him. The son of Hades cleared his throat, filled a complementary crystal glass with water, and shifted a flashlight around until a beam of color refracted through the liquid. He tossed a golden coin into the cup and watched it dissappear as he said Hazel's name and location.
Within seconds, Hazel's sleepy face shimmered into the rainbow and she shouted Nicos name quietly.
"I'm sorry. I know it's late, but I just had to make sure you were alright."
Hazel sighed. 'I'm fine, Nico. Both of us are.'
"What did Typhon and Manti have to say?"
'Nothing important, really.' She fought back a yawn.
Nico had a feeling his half-sister was lying but at least he knew she was alive and well, so he let it go. But he still had more he wanted to ask her.
"How's Leo?"
Hazel rubbed her face and her image started to fade a bit. 'I don't know,' she said, seeming dreadfully upset by the words. 'They still have him.'
Nico cursed under his breath and Hazel said something more.
'Nico, you need to stop worrying about us. We'll be fine. Just get back to Camp Half Blood and don't contact me until you're there. Do you understand?'
Nico nodded and tried to say more but Hazel cut him off. 'Nico, I'm fine. Just go back to bed and stop worrying. Get back to Camp and then message me again. But, until then, forget about Leo, forget about Frank, and forget about me. Only message me to tell me your back at Camp, do you understand?'
Nico gave another nod and tried to speak again but Hazel's face was fading from the rainbow.
'Just get back to Camp. Goodbye, Nico.'
Again, the son of Hades tried to manage a few words but Hazel was already gone from the shimmering rainbow. Nico did everything in his power to keep his anger low as he dumped the water back into the sink and dropped the flashlight into the crystal before going back to Percy to join the elder in bed.
"Where were you?" He asked sleepily.
"In the bathroom," Nico answered in a whisper. "Just go back to sleep."
Percy hummed and let himself be wrapped in the youngers arms before drifting into a slumber yet again.
But Nico didn't sleep. Instead, he thought. A plethora of ideas on how to get to Camp Half Blood bounced around his brain, different ones than before, but only one stuck around. And he made a decision to go through with what he was thinking.

Nico woke Percy before the sun even rose the following morning and made sure they both ate plenty of breakfast. He was very silent and also very aware that his silence was bothering the elder, but he was still contemplating the thought he had come up with after speaking to Hazel. He had decided on something the night before (a way to get to camp), and he couldn't think of a better way to get himself there. But he had to think of Percy, too: he was okay with the decision, but would the son of Poseidon be?
The silence during breakfast, as Nico had those thoughts, was bothersome and needed to be broken. "So," Percy said as he mowed into a piece of toast. "What's goin' on?"
The younger huffed. "I talked to Hazel last night." Nico spoke flatly. "She told me not to Iris message her until we were back at Camp." He gave a light shake of his head. "I don't feel like waiting for as long as it would take to drive there, so I'm going with a different option."
Percy knitted his brow together in confusion. Other than driving, the only way he could think to travel such a disatnce was by plane. And he really didn't think the son of the god of the underworld would go anywhere near a plane. So, needless to say, Percy was confused. "What kind of different option?"
Nico looked deeply into the elders eyes. "We're gonna shadow travel."
The son of Hades said it like it was nothing and kept eating his breakfast but Percy almost choked on his bite of eggs. He followed up by staring blankly at the younger, his face rather emotionless. He had never shadow traveled before and he wasn't sure if he wanted to try it.
"Um..."
Nico shook his head and swallowed down a bite of food before he spoke again. "You'll be fine, Percy. You just need to eat and keep your energy up. It'll make the journey a lot easier for both of us."
The son of Poseidon tried to say more and convince Nico to do it a different way but the younger shut him up instantly, telling him it was the safest option. Knowing Nico wouldn't take well to arguing, Percy humored him and asked what it would be like, although he was kind of nauseous at the thought. Nico tried to describe it as best he could and his description made Percy even more leary. But still, the two demigods made their way outside as the morning wore on and found a shadow. Nico popped a piece of ambrosia into his mouth and gave one to Percy before gripping tightly onto the elders hand and silencing, closing his eyes tightly as the early morning summer sun began to wear away at their shadow. But, before Percy really knew it, everything got blurry, faded, and dark. But that wasn't all. Percy actually felt physically pained as he and Nico were transported through the darkness. It felt as if his face was peeling off at the speed and tears started to form in the corners of his eyes. He was dizzy and he started to feel even more nauseous and light headed and, as the seconds wore on, the feeling got worse. His bones and skin felt broken and bruised and he could think of nothing but his pain.
And then, as quickly as it started, the pain was gone. Percy opened his eyes and saw blurs around him everywhere, although he couldn't make out what they were. He heard noises, but none really sounded like anything. The son of Poseidon fell to the ground as everything darkened and disappeared yet again.

The son of Hades was beyond thrilled that the two were back at Camp Half Blood but he was tired for days on end. He had iris messaged Hazel right away and did the same every day that followed, despite his serious lack of energy. He tried to fill her in on everything but didn't really want to tell her about how the two had gotten to Camp so quickly. But he had to, and the daughter of Hades was mad. She probably could have beat the living daylights out of her half-brother for shadow traveling with Percy, although she was happy the two were safe. After she calmed down, she told Nico to continue. So he kept filling her in, telling her that Percy had been passed out since they got back over a week ago but he would be alright soon.
"So now I can worry about you."
'You don't need to worry about me.' Hazel said, clearly getting annoyed. 'Everything is fine.'
Nico said nothing more about worry and actually pursed his lips at Hazel's anger, but there was something more he was concerned about. "Do you have Leo back yet?"
Hazel dropped her head and shook it dismally. 'No. But we know where he is and we're doing everything we can to come up with a plan.'
Nico sighed but gave a nod and turned away. Off in the distance, Hazel could see a girl talking to him.
Nico turned back to his half-sister with the biggest smile the daughter of Hades had ever seen on her half-brothers face. "I gotta go. Percy's awake." And the son of Hades turned the water off and bolted to the infirmary to see Percy moving around a little and a few people surrounding him. Nico jumped to the elders side, pushing away everyone else, and smiled.
"Percy."
The son of Poseidon blinked his eyes and sighed gently. "Nico."
The younger knelt down and grabbed Percys face, scooping the elders lips in his own in a hopeless kiss. There were a few gasps from people around them but Nico didn't care, he was just happy Percy was alright.
Annabeth turned quickly and sent everyone except Grover, Jason, Piper, Nico, and, obviously, herself out of the infirmary and turned back to the two boys who had finally broken their kiss. Nico stroked his hands through Percys hair gently and whispered things that no one except the son of Poseidon could hear. Percy gave a nod and Nico pulled away before sitting the elder up and plopping next to him.
Piper was the first to speak. "So... this is... um..."
"Loss for words?" Nico joked.
"First time ever." The daughter of Aphrodite admitted.
"So," Jason cleared his throat. "What is this?"
Percy shrugged.
"Are you guys... dating?" Annabeth queried, clearly not offended to see that her, technically, ex-boyfriend had just locked lips with a guy.
Percy immediately shook his head vigorously from side to side but froze when Nico spoke.
"Yes." All eyes were on the son of Hades and his eyes were on Percy. "If you want to, that is." He seemed to get a little shy at that point, but Percy nodded and the younger smiled a little, leaning in for another light kiss.
Piper, much to everyone's surprise, squealed before clamping her hands over her mouth. "I don't know where that came from. I am so sorry."
Everyone chuckled at her but she didn't really see it as funny.
"Can I tell the other Aphrodite girls?"
Nico looked at Percy and the two shrugged in unison, making Piper squeal yet again and even jump a little where she stood.
"I am so sorry," she said with a now straight face. "I don't know what's gotten into me. But I gotta go." She kissed Jason's cheek and ran out of the infirmary to tell her half-sisters about Camp Half Bloods newest demigod couple.

Within just a few more days, Percy was out of the infirmary and back on his feet, participating in all sorts of demigod activities. He was back to sparring and swimming and rock wall climbing and just living life like a normal demigod teen.
The day after he woke up, Percy told Chiron almost everything about his and Nicos time away and even had the centaur call his mom, and she came to Camp Half Blood and the two of them spent the entire day with one another. Plenty of tears were shed as the teen told his mom everything he had been through and everything that had come of it, just like he did with Chirom. And, by the end of that day, she hugged and kissed him goodbye and watched as he passed through the barrier to Camp Half Blood.
Then it was the demigods' turn to have a happy reunion with the son of Poseidon. Percy had seen all his friends in the days since he had been back but they didn't do much catching up and Percy knew there would be plenty of questions, comments, and facial expressions to go around. But, he was more than prepared to answer every question, smile or laugh at every comment, and silently accept every expression. When the demigod friends really had time to sit down and talk, Percy told his them to join him and his boyfriend in the Poseidon cabin. Annabeth was the first one there after dinner and Percy picked her up and spun her around before placing her back down and letting her kiss his cheek while whispering "Chiron told me EVERYTHING about you and Nico."
Percy looked a little embarrassed but he knew Annabeth was smart and would have figured out all the details on her own, anyway. He supposed it wasn't too bad that Chiron had told her about him and Nico getting physical. And, given her smile, she was as happy as the Aphrodite girls.
Percy pulled away from Annabeth and turned to Grover, who was pretty much balling, repeating how happy he was that Percy was okay and how worried he had been. The son of Poseidon joined him in shedding tears and the two hugged one another for a few moments before pulling Annabeth in to join. Nico just sat back and smiled lightly as his boyfriend reunited, quite emotionally he might add, with the friends he hadn't seen in years.
Within a few hours, Nico and Percy told Annabeth and Grover everything they were comfortable with them knowing and were met with a number of responses. There was shock, fear, a little anger, and worry for the three demigods still left in the outside world.
Once Nico and Percy were done, they let Annabeth and Grover fill them in. Apparently, both of them had been absolute wrecks when Percy had gone missing. But, that wasn't nearly as difficult to hear as what they told him about Tyson. Percy froze hearing his half-brothers name leave Annabeths lips. She tried to keep everything light but still said that Tyson had been a total mess. Poseidon had tried his hardest to convince the cyclops Percy would be fine but Tyson just didn't want to believe it. He wanted to go looking for Percy because there was no one more important, in the entire world, to the cyclops than his half-brother. The son of Poseidon was sobbing when he heard how much damage he had caused to his little brother without even knowing it...
Percy had just gotten his tears to stop flowing when a crowd of Aphrodite girls came piling into the cabin with gifts in their hands, giggles in their throats, and smiles on their lips, all for the new couple. Nico and Percy accepted every gift with thanks but shooed the girls out quickly. The two demigod boys were exhausted but Nico wanted to talk to Hazel again before turning in for the night. The older demigod convinced him to let it go and try to sleep and the two would Iris message her in the morning. Nico finally did agree to go to bed and the two slept in one another's arms for yet another night.

So much time passed and Nico was growing more afraid with each new day that he may never see his half-sister again. He continued to Iris message her but she wasn't able to tell him much. It was always just 'We're still planning' or 'We know where he is now' and there was even a 'Things are going well'. But, the one that made Nico the most happy was when Hazel told him that they would have Leo back in just a couple of weeks, even if Hazel said it warily. Nico wasn't sure if it was true, because of the way she had said it, but Percy kept telling him it had to be true, or else Hazel wouldn't have said it at all. So, that was the little bit of hope that Nico clung to.
But still, the son of Hades felt like he was living in Tartarus on earth without his sister. He had lost one already and he felt he was losing another. And, as much as he didn't want to admit it, his heart was aching to see Frank and Leo safe, too.
Nico was able to talk to Hazel everyday for the next few weeks, but Iris messaging just wasn't the same as truly talking to someone face to face. Each time they spoke, Hazel said she felt they were a little closer to getting Leo back. Despite that, Nico felt it was a lost cause. He kept begging her to just come back to Camp and let Nicos associates handle everything, but Hazel wouldn't go for it; and it clouded Nicos mind more than any kind of alchohol he had even drank or any type of pill he had ever popped.
Things were progressively getting worse for Nico and everyone, especially the son of Poseidon, could see it. The elder kept telling his boyfriend to stop worrying but that seemed to do more harm than good.
By the end of one specific day, Percy was on the edge of being annoyed. He knew Nico was worried about Hazel and he just wanted the younger demigod to lighten up a bit and relax but Nico just kept on being a worry-wart. Percy, feeling as if there was something he should do, tried everything he could think of: sparring with the younger, taking him through Camp Half Bloods obstacle courses, trying to teach Nico to swim, and even being seductive like he was at the hotel. The only thing that seemed to work for Nico was having Percys body but sex was only a temporary distraction, and a temporary distraction did not cover up a constant worry.
And the worry was, truly, constant. It never left Nicos mind. Ever. Every day of every week and even into a new month (July, that is) Nicos mind was plagued with the possibilities of what Hazel could be up to and going through.
Another few days passed, and Hazel stopped accepting her half-brothers Iris messages, telling the goddess of the rainbow she was busy or that she didn't recognize the name or location. Nico figured that would happen sooner or later, since he had been trying to get a hold of her multiple times every day, but that didn't mean he was okay with it. He still wanted to talk to her and each day he woke with the hope that she would come walking through the barrier. But it never happened. It was truly the worst thing he had ever gone through.
Annabeth, who was in a tizzy when she found out about Nicos worry, went to Chiron. The centaur acknowledged that it wasn't healthy for the son of Hades but admitted that he didn't know what to do. And Annabeth demanded that the Camp director put Nico into some sort of counselling or something. Chiron wasn't fond of the idea, but he did agree and had Nico sitting down with him twice a day to simply talk. It took the son of Hades a while to open up but Chiron agreed to Percys suggestion that he be there with the younger and that seemed to help a bit and, before too long, Nico was coming to terms with a lot. He wasn't so worried and didn't constantly have the thought that he would never see Hazel again.
More time passed and brought with it new issues. Nico was having the worst nightmares he had ever had in his life and he kept waking Percy with them. The son of Poseidon found himself back in his own cabin for a few nights and that just made things worse for Nico. Instead of having his sleep interrupted with nightmares, it was simply nonexsistant. He never knew how much of a deep impact the son of Poseidons presence had on him. And neither did Percy. Realizing how exhausted Nico seemed to look all the time, Percy rejoined the younger in his bed and hoped things would be a little better. Soon, Nicos dreams seemed to dwindle in frequency and he was sleeping much better, but that, by no means, meant that he was okay with a wake up call after a great night of sleep.
Early on the morning of August eighth, what seemed like the entire camp flooded into the Hades cabin with cakes and gifts and all sorts of wishes for the birthday boy. Once Nico finally came to, he looked to his boyfriend.
"You never told me it was your birthday."
Percy blushed and shrugged as Nico smiled and leaned into him to kiss his cheek gently. Before he pulled away, the son of Hades whispered something lowly in Percys ear.
"Happy birthday, goddess."
Percy had kind of hated the name at first but he didn't mind it so much right then.
"I didn't get you anything. But I can give you something later, if you want it."
Nico pulled back and saw that he had left his boyfriend white as a sheet, but with the brightest red cheeks anyone had ever seen. Percy gave a nod and Nico responded with a smile before the two sent everyone out, with their gifts and treats, to the dining hall so the two could shower and dress in privacy.
Upon joining the rest of the Camp, Happy Birthday was sung and Percy cut the cake. Or cakes, rather, since their were about ten of them. But, with a bunch of teenage mouths to feed, ten didn't seem like too many. Within just a few minutes, laughter filled the dining pavilion and Nico had almost forgotten about everything except for his boyfriends birthday and the sweet slice of blue cake on the plate in his hand.
Without warning, a voice sounded from behind the son of Hades and Percy dropped his fork.
"Who's birthday is it?"
Nico cursed and turned to see who dared to distract him from the most fun he had had in a very long time. But, as soon as his eyes came to rest on the face, he was no longer angry. He was happier than he could have ever been. And he was happy because the voice belonged to Hazel.
The son of Hades jumped from his seat, dropping the cake on the floor, and tackled his sister, that he hadn't seen in over a month, in a bear hug and peppered her face with kisses. She tried to push him away while the other members of camp laughed and whooped and clapped at the happy homecoming.
Nico finally pulled away and looked to Frank before giving a large smile and shifting his eyes around a little more. By that time, Percy had joined the son of Hades and asked the very question that was eating away at the younger demigod.
"Where's Leo?"
Hazel sighed heavily. "In the infirmary."
Right away, the two bolted from the he dining pavilion and straight to see the son of Hephaestsus. He was awake and looked pretty well, other than a few cuts and bruises here and there, and he greeted the two with a smile.
"You don't look so bad." Percy said, returning the look.
Leo chuckled. "Well, I feel terrible."
The son of Hades shook his head. "How are you even alive?"
Leo's expression changed from the slight smile he had to being totally flat. "Eros." Nicos eyes shot open and Leo spoke on. "He gave me food, bandaged me up, and even killed Manti to get me out of there."
Nico was shocked before but he was downright awestruck at hearing that. He didn't really believe it, but Hazel was there quickly, assuring her half-brother that it was the truth. That, without Eros, they all might be dead. And Leo would have gone through so much more.
Nico and Percy gave the other demigod apologetic, and grateful, expressions and sat to listen to everything Leo had to say. Apparently, Typhon and Manti had used him as a punching bag as well as a human target for rubber bullets and even real ones while he was clad in a vest. He got shot in the arm once and that was the one time he was happier than all get out to see the son of Hades ex-lover. Nico and Percy thanked him, for basically sacrificing himself, over and over and told him even more than that that what he had done was unnecessary, that he shouldn't have done it. But he had his reasons, even if he never spoke them.
In a very short time, actually just a few hours, the son of Hephaestsus was back on his feet and trying to get back into the swing of things. It was hard, just like it was for the other four, but they all managed to get through that first day. With each others help and company, that is. Surprisingly enough, though, the thing that helped all of them the most was something that tumbled from the son of Hephaestsus' lips.
"Ya know," he said late that night as the five sat in the grass and looked up at the stars they couldn't see in the San Francisco sky. "We have ourselves one hell of a reputation now."
Frank chuckled. "We had one before."
"Yeah but now it's everywhere." Leo stated. "It's here at Camp, it's on the streets, and it's in Olympus. What demigod wouldn't want that?"
All five gave light laughter and nodded, but quickly silenced and thought. A bunch of kids, teenagers, and they were known all over the place for what they did on the streets. It truly was a feat worth being proud of, in their opinion anyway. But it was also something worthy of a light bit of shame...
It was almost midnight when Hazel, Frank, and Leo retired to their cabins, leaving Nico and Percy under the stars for a little while longer. They may have been back at Camp Half Blood for quite a while but it was still strange to see the stars shining so brightly. They had gotten used to city light, not natural light. And they had missed it.
The silence wore on and Nicos thoughts wandered to what he had told Percy that morning about his birthday present. The son of Hades was about ready to lean over Percy, kiss him passionately, and really get the party started. But Percy spoke, pulling Nicos attention from his thoughts to his boyfriends voice instead. That was alright, though; his thoughts could wait.
"Ya know, I think Hell And High Water has a lot of meanings."
Nico smiled and stroked Percys hair softly. He had gotten used to how 'strange' he had been acting toward the son of Poseidon and just dubbed it all his new normal.
"Really?" The younger humored, actually somewhat surprised the title was brought up and intruiged about the elder demigods thoughts. "Tell me one."
"Well," Percy moved a little so he could see his boyfriends face. "Everyone says it means great difficulties and obstacles. And, since we're Hell And High Water, that means we're obstacles."
Nico chuckled. "Where are you trying to go with this, Percy?"
The older demigod furrowed his brow and Nico chuckled an apology.
"What I'm try to say is that we overcame the obstacles within ourselves. We had a lot to go through out there. But, through it, we found something that made it all worth it."
Nico contemplated that for a few seconds before smiling and bringing Percy closer to him to peck the elder on the lips. "Have you been getting lessons from Piper on how to use charm speak?"
Percy blushed and shook his head. "Why would ask something like that?"
Nico smiled and fought back another chuckle. "No reason."
The son of Poseidon knew that wasn't true but he figured it really wasn't that important so he let it be.
For the whole night and up until the sun rose the following morning, the two demigods sat and just watched the sky. Percy had fallen asleep shortly after sunrise but Nico had been thinking about what the elder had said the night before. He had not, in the least, been fond of the nickname Frank had given them but, something seemed different now. He was thinking of the way Percy had put it and couldn't help but see it as beautiful. Because of what Percy had said, Nico came to accept their nickname. He came to fall in love with it. He was Hell and Percy was High Water. They were the perfect combination of chaos and intimacy, of mayhem and endearment and when you put that all together, Nico figured, they made the perfect combination of Hell And High Water.

Author's Note

This is the very last chapter of Hell And High Water. I hoe you enjoyed the story and continue shipping Percico!!